Recommended

By A. Kam Napier

Published: 2010.01.13 07:00 PM

CD

Melina Lillios, musical director of Diamond Head Theatre’s Jesus Christ Superstar, which opens on July 16, recommends Peter Gabriel’s Passion. The 2002 release is a remastered version of the original 1989 recording, which was the soundtrack for The Last Temptation of Christ . “It’s definitely a CD for those wishing for an otherworldly experience without having to leave the comforts of home. It’s sultry, seductive and erotic throughout. I always travel with it, because it’s great to listen to if I’m watching a boring inflight film or sitting next to a crying baby.” Universal, 2002.

BOOK

Katy Chen, executive director of the nonprofit organization Hawai‘i Literacy Inc., recommends Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. “Hemingway’s characters seem devoid of emotion, despite the dramatic setting of a love affair during WWI. Thus their dialogue often sounds unreal. At the same time however, it reads surprisingly familiar. I find myself reading passages over and over again for that reason.” Latest edition: Scribner, 1995.

FILM

Steve Mobley, manager of the Honolulu Academy of Arts’ Doris Duke Theatre, recommends Sylvain Chomet’s The Triplets of Belleville. “It’s an animated film, made in France, and it doesn’t really have subtitles, but there’s not really any dialogue, anyway. It’s a very humorous, character-driven story that is beautifully illustrated. The trend today is combining computer generation with handdrawn cells. So you have wonderful background scenes of oceans and mountains, but the characters are very early-Disneyesque. Everything about this movie is utterly charming.” Sony, 2003.